The Veteran's service connection claims for various conditions have been reopened and granted.,Service connection has been established for coronary artery disease/ischemic heart disease (CAD), diabetes mellitus, left lower extremity diabetic neuropathy, right lower extremity diabetic neuropathy, left upper extremity carpal tunnel syndrome, right upper extremity carpal tunnel syndrome, and posttraumatic stress disorder.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service connection claims were reopened due to the submission of new evidence that related to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate his underlying claim of service connection. The evidence included the Veteran’s testimony describing his service in Vietnam, which established exposure to herbicide agents and raised a reasonable possibility of substantiating his service connection claims.
- Claimed conditions
- Coronary artery disease/ischemic heart disease (CAD), Diabetes mellitus, Left lower extremity diabetic neuropathy, Right lower extremity diabetic neuropathy, Left upper extremity carpal tunnel syndrome, Right upper extremity carpal tunnel syndrome, Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20003800
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for PTSD, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor and finding that his PTSD is related to an in-service military sexual trauma (MST) during a period of ACDUTRA.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Denied
The appeal for service connection for PTSD was dismissed, and the claims for a compensable rating for the lower back scar, service connection for COPD, and peripheral artery disease were denied.
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